Nome Gold Rush
Encyclopedia
Beach
Claim jumping was mostly a problem before the beach gold was found, since it could not be claimed and there was plenty of it. As a matter of fact, the beach gold seems to have been more important than the claimed gold in the creeks. The mining of Nome beach is a good example of gold rushes going through phases of increasing use of machinery and capital. The very first gold on the beach was found with a pan. Later in the summer of 1899 man operated equipment like sluices and rockers were present.[pic. 1] In 1900 small machines together with hoses and pumps were seen at the beach[pic. 2 and 3], and finally from around 1902 big companies took over.[pic. 4] The season wasn't long. Due to ice, the beaches could only be worked from June to October. Local police would force people to leave for the winter if they didn't have proper shelter to get through it.Creeks
Panning creeks for gold in Alaska is slow and cold. Like in Klondike there was a layer of permafrost just below the surface. In Nome different kinds of equipments were used to thaw the ground and suck up gravel. The mining methods used were extensive meaning that the amount of soil processed was more important than the effiency of the equipment that separated gold from sand. By hydraulic methods soil was washed of the brink of the creeks and led into sluices either by gravity or suction. Dredges and in some cases mine shafts were used. To facilitate digging the ground was softened with steam. Steam was also used for collecting dumps of gravel in the winter. These could then be sluiced next summer.City and harbor
By 1905 Nome had schools, churches, newspapers, a hospital, saloons, stores, a post office, an electric light plant and other businesses. A hothouse on the sand-spit across the Snake River provided fresh vegetables. Some of the first automobiles in Alaska ran on the planks of Front Street. Travelers going to the mines at Council City rode in heated stages. In 1904 the first wireless telegraph in the United States to transmit over a distance of more than 100 miles began operating in Nome. Messages could be sent from Nome to St. MichaelSt. Michael, Alaska
St. Michael is a city in Nome Census Area, Alaska, United States. At the 2000 census the population was 368.-Geography:St. Michael is located at on the east side of St...
and from there by cable to Seattle.
Nome had no harbor for ships during the rush only one for local boats. Ships anchored outside the coast and people were sailed ashore in boats. In early summer the coast could still be covered with ice. In that case passengers would be put off on the ice and brought ashore by dog sledges. In 1901 a loading crane was build and in 1905 a wharf. This was by 1907 replaced by or combined with a tramway. Together with the tramway, which was 1,400 feet long, people and freight were brought ashore by wire-pulled lighters.[pic. 4]
End of the Rush
In 1904 and 1905, old beach lines above tidewater were found to contain gold. The discovery of a second and then a third beach renewed mining close to Nome itself. These strikes, however, were short-lived. During the period from 1900–1909, estimates of Nome's population reached as high as 20,000. By 1910 it had fallen to 2,600. The rush was over, but mining for gold there still takes place today (2011) and every year prospectors arrive to look for gold. Total gold production for the Nome district has been at least 3.6 million ounces.Did anyone Get Rich?
Among the prospectors it is known that at least the three "Swedes" made a fortune out of the Nome gold rush. Around 1920 their mining company had made $20,000,000. An attempt to calculate how much the average beach prospector earned in 1899 gives the following figure: Estimate of gold value recovered: $2,000,000, annual wage for a worker: $400, number of prospectors: 2,000. This yields 2.5 year of salary worth for each person. Also saloon owners etc. could make money during the rush. An example is Wyatt Earp, who is estimated to have returned from Nome with $80,000. A legendary prospector, Swiftwater Bill Gates, made a fortune in both Klondike and Nome, but lost everything just as quickly.Effect on Natives and Nature
The biggest losers were probably the natives. Mining claims could only be staked lawfully by citizens. Since natives were considered to be uncivilized, they could not get citizenship. For them, the gold rush meant a drastic reduction in moose, caribou, and small game as prospectors hunted these for food. In many areas, gold mining resulted in destruction of salmon streams. Contact with white men also had consequences like drinking and disease.Legacy
Nome and Klondike
The legacy of the Nome gold rush is somewhat obscured by the fame of Klondike. The two gold rushes, however, should not be confused. Both Klondike and Nome are thought of as Alaska gold rushes, even though strictly speaking only Nome was. The center of the Klondike gold rush was Dawson City in YukonYukon
Yukon is the westernmost and smallest of Canada's three federal territories. It was named after the Yukon River. The word Yukon means "Great River" in Gwich’in....
, Canada and therefore outside Alaska, but still within the Alaska peninsula.[pic. 7] Klondike River
Klondike River
The Klondike River is a tributary of the Yukon River in Canada that gave its name to the Klondike Gold Rush. The Klondike River has its source in the Ogilvie Mountains and flows into the Yukon River at Dawson City....
giving name to the rush is a tributary of the Yukon
Yukon River
The Yukon River is a major watercourse of northwestern North America. The source of the river is located in British Columbia, Canada. The next portion lies in, and gives its name to Yukon Territory. The lower half of the river lies in the U.S. state of Alaska. The river is long and empties into...
River, which runs through Alaska and ends in Norton Sound
Norton Sound
Norton Sound is an inlet of the Bering Sea on the western coast of the U.S. state of Alaska, south of the Seward Peninsula. It is about 240 km long and 200 km wide. The Yukon River delta forms a portion of the south shore and water from the Yukon influences this body of water...
opposite Nome. For that reason, Yukon River too is associated with both rushes. As mentioned earlier, there was an overlap of prospectors between Klondike and Nome and, finally, the two rushes shared some of the same routes.[pic. 7]
Literature and Film
Non fiction: The book Gold-Rush Nome; An Illustrated Historical Chronicle by Carrie M. McLainCarrie M. McLain
Carrie Mary McLain was born January 26, 1895 in Astoria, New York. She moved to Alaska about 1910 and taught school on the Seward Peninsula, primarily in Nome, Alaska for many years. She published two books: Gold Rush Nome and Pioneer Teacher. She died in the Palmer Pioneers Home on May 30, 1973,...
(1969) is a source to the Nome gold rush.
Fiction: Apart from the novel and film The Spoilers, also North to Alaska
North to Alaska
North to Alaska is a 1960 comedic western movie directed by Henry Hathaway and John Wayne . It starred Wayne along with Stewart Granger, Ernie Kovacs, Fabian and Capucine....
(1960 comedy, starring John Wayne
John Wayne
Marion Mitchell Morrison , better known by his stage name John Wayne, was an American film actor, director and producer. He epitomized rugged masculinity and became an enduring American icon. He is famous for his distinctive calm voice, walk, and height...
as well and also known for its theme song
North to Alaska (song)
"North to Alaska" is a 1960 hit song by Johnny Horton which featured in the movie of the same name. Though Horton had sung several popular movie tie-in songs, this was the first one that was sung over the opening titles....
) is set in Nome during the rush. In Tombstone (1993 western based on the life of Wyatt Earp, starring Kurt Russell
Kurt Russell
Kurt Vogel Russell is an American television and film actor. His first acting roles were as a child in television series, including a lead role in the Western series The Travels of Jaimie McPheeters...
) a scene in the end refers briefly to Nome.